Electric clock striking mechanism



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet l.

W. KAISLING. ELECTRIC OLOOK STRIKING MECHANISM. No. 493,777, PatentedMar. 21,1893

INVENTOR:

J1 WITNESSES 1-H Q W I fltzforney.

(No Model.)

2 t e e h S m e e h S 2 G N I L S I A K W ELECTRIC OLOUK STRIKINGMECHANISM.

No. 498,777. Patented Mar.21,1893,

INVENTOR: W

WITNESSES:

UNiTnn STATES PATENT omen.

\VILLIAM KAISLING, OF ALLEGHENY, PENNSYLVANIA.

ELECTRIC CLOCK STRIKING MECHANISM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 493,777, dated March 211893. Application filed April 4., 1892. Serial No. 42 7,723. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM KAISLING, a citizen of the United States,residing at Allegheny, in the county of Allegheny and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inElectric Time- Annnnciators; and I do hereby declare the following to bea full, clear, and exact description of theinvention,such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part ofthis specification.

My invention relates to an improved electric annunciator for clocks, andconsists in certain details of construction, and combination of parts aswill be fully described hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a diagraphic view showing theseveral electric circuits and portions of the mechanical devices whichform the subject of the present invention and Fig. 1 is a fragmentarydetail to be referred to hereinafter. Fig. 2 is a face View of themechanism for closing the several bell ringing circuits and Fig. 3 isaside view of the same. Fig. 4 is a rear elevation of the same showingthe mechanism seen at the right in Fig. 3.

The object of my invention is to provide an electric apparatus whichwhen connected with an ordinary time clock will indicate the hours, andquarters; by successive taps on a bell, thus providing a device by theuse of'w hich the time of the day may be indicated at a number ofdifferent points or places, with but one clock or time piece.

To construct an apparatus in accordance with my invention I provide acontact disk and attach the same to the sleeve ordinarily carrying thehour hand or pointer. This disk consists of a flat piece of metal havinga series of contacts, 12-3, 850., which extends in concentricsemi-circles about the face of the disk, and of varying lengths-from acomplete circle 1, to one twelfth of a circle 12, at the inside, thusleaving an irregular spiral shaped space about the center of the disk.Fixed to the shaft of the clock ordinarily carrying the minute hand is asecond smaller disk A, hearing three integral contacts a, b, 0, equal tothree quarters, one half, and one quarter ofa circle respectively. Thisdisk A is of a less radius than the radius of the inner semi-circularcontact 12 of the series of contacts on disk 1 and is concentric withsaid disk 1. These contacts a-bc, are for the purpose of indicating thequarter hours, while those 112, inclusive, are for the hours. Placedwithin reach of the above described contacts is a double comb 1617, eacharm of which is connected by a wire to a disk 20. This disk 20, isprovided with fifteen contacts 23, three of which marked 24, areconnected to the comb 17, by independent wires 19, and the othercontacts 23, by independent wires 18, to the comb 16. This disk 20,isheld stationary, and is provided with a revolving contact arm 47, whichis operated by a barrel spring (not shown) and train of gearing 33,0fthe character usually employed in clocks for the purpose of giving thesaid moving contact arm 47, a slow rotary movement. Attached to asuitable point near the disk 20, is a magnet 25, and armature 26, whichis connected to the battery 27, in a manner hereinafter described.Attached to the armature 26, is a tapper 31, which is within reach of abell 32, and is adapted to strike the same when the said armature hasbeen attracted by the magnets.

Mounted in the frame 60, carrying the revolving contact arm 47, is ashaft 40, to which is secured a contact arm 35, which is insulated fromthe said shaft 40, and capable of a limited movement to make separateelectric connections with two stationary contacts 41-42. One of thesecontacts, 41, is connected by a wire 43, to the wire 18, connecting thefirst contact 1, of the. hour disk. The other contact 42, is connectedby a wire 28 with the negative pole of the battery 27, and the said arm35 with the magnets 25, and the magnets to the binding post 54 on theframe 60. Secured in this same frame 60, on another shaft is a disk orwheel 21, having a notch 34, formed in its periphery, in which a bentwire 52, connected to the shaft 40, rests, which bent wire serves toslightly revolve the shaft 40, and thereby move the arm 35, from thecontact 41, to the contact 42. Connected to this same shaft 40 is ashort arm 48, which bears at its outer end upon the upper surface of aspring catch 49, mounted on disk 21, and from the underside of saidshaft 40 projects a second arm 50, the extremity of which is bentdownward so as to lie in the path of a projecting finger 51, on thearmature 26, as clearly seen in Fig. 3 of the drawings. The 5 operatingspring, and its connected train of gearing 33, are held in check by anarm 53, bearing against one of the speed fans or regulators, 32' and thesaid arm 53, released from the fan 32, by another lever 50 engaging witha pin, 51 projecting from one side of the armature 26. Thus it will beseen that when the armature 26, is drawn toward the magnet 25, by theflow of a current of electricity therethrough, the shaft 40 is partiallyrotated, such rotation being only sufficient to disengage the arm 53from the regulator 32' and set the clock work driven by the spring abovementioned and the gearing 33 in motion, the spring catch 49, preventing,by its engage- 2o ment with the arm 48, the further rotation of saidshaft 40 whereby the arm 35, would be brought into contact with thecontact piece 42. The clock work being thus set in motion, the disk 21is rotated, whereby the catch 49 is moved from under the arm 48, onshaft w and said shaft 40 is still further rotated by the engagement ofthe arm 52 with the periphery of the disk 21, beyond the notch 34, thedirection of rotation of the disk being 0 indicated by the arrow in Fig.2. A small spiral spring 4O mounted on shaft 40, one end of which is,secured to the shaft and the other end to the frame 60 serves to retractsaid shaft to its normal position (seen in Fig. 5 2) after the disk 21has made a complete rotation and the arm 52 has again fallen into notch34, lifting arm 48, up so that its extremity rests again above the catch49, which wipes in to allow of the upward movement of 40 said arm aswill be readily understood.

A clock is provided and placed at a suitable position in one of therooms, and one of the instruments for striking the bell 32, placed inanother room some distance away, and elec- 5 trically connected asdescribed. A wire 29, connects the outside contact 1, of the large diskwith the positive pole of the battery 27 and another wire 28, connectsthe negative pole of the battery with the contact 42 set in 0 the frame60. Another wire 30 connects said positive pole of the battery with thebinding screw 54, set in frame 60, the circuit through said wire 30being normally open by the provision of a circuit breaker or push button33 55 therein. The contacts 1-12, are so arranged on the hour sleeve asto bring the points of the comb 16, on the outside contact at oneoclock; the first and second at two oclock the first, second and thirdat three oclock,

&c., and hold the said contacts the entire twelve hours. The innercontacts ab-c, are arranged on the minute shaft, in a manner that afterthe first quarter hour, the first contact will be made with the contact17, farthest from the center. At and after the half hour two contactsa-b will be made, and at and after the three quarters the three contactsabc will be made, and at the full hour all three contacts broken, andthen again made in the same order.

In operation; when it is desired to ascertain the time within hearing ofthebell32,the button 33 is pressed which completes a circuit from thenegative pole of the battery 27, through the wire 30, and push button33', to the binding post- 54 on the frame 60, to the magnets 25, throughsaid magnets and wire 46,through the contact arm 35, and contact 41, andwire 43, to the first wire 18, to the contact 1, and wire 29 back to thepositive pole of the battery. When this circuit has been completed thearmature 26,is attracted toward the magnets 25, moving the lever 50,slightly rotating the shaft 40, until stopped by the engagement of thearm 48 with the upper side of the spring catch 49 on the disk 21 andreleasing the fan 32', which puts the train of gearing 33 in motion.This movement rotates the contact arm 47 and stop disk 21, which areattached to the same shaft, the arm moving over the first contact 011the disk 20, complete a circuit, as by this time the disk 21; has movedsufficiently to withdraw the lever 52, from the notch 34, and at thesame movement of the disk and lever 52, the lever 50 is moved out ofreach of the pin 51, projecting from the armature 26, and at the sametime the contact arm 35, is moved over to the contact 42. \Vhen thislast described contact is made a circuit is completed from the negativepole of the battery 27, through the wire 28, contact 42, arm 35, wire46, through the magnets 25 to the frame 60, to moving contact arm 47,through the first contact on the disk 20, to wire 18, and comb 16, tocontact 1, through said contact 1, and wire 29, to the positive pole ofthe battery. This circuit when completed attracts the armature to themagnets, and the tapper strikes the bell, 32 which will indicate thehour as one oclock.

At Fig.1 on the drawings three of the contacts are made by the comb 16,while but one contact is made with the comb 17, which would give threetaps of the bell, and aftera short interval of time one tap of the bell.This interval is caused by the space between the last contact of thegroup of twelve, and the first of the group of three. The bell havingbeen tapped three times in quick succession, and once after an intervalof time, the time of day is a quarter past three.

All the circuits for tapping the bell are the same from the contacts onthe disk 20, to the battery 27, as above described, and separate andindependent wires are used from the said contacts to the two combs 16,and 17.

By means of an apparatus such as described, time may be ascertained at anumber of different points by the use of one clock, and several of theinstruments for operating the bell.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination with the center shaft of a clock carrying a series ofcontacts, of a stationary series of contacts adapted to contactelectrically therewith during the revolution thereof, a second annularseries of stationary contacts electrically connected to the last namedseries of stationary contacts, a contact arm arranged within saidannular series and adapted to contact electrically therewith during itsrevolution, a normally open electric circuit, including a generator andsignal, of which circuit each of the respective stationary and movingcontacts and said contact arm form terminals, a spring connected withsaid contact arm and adapted to rotate the same, a detent for holdingsaid contact arm against rotation, and means for disengaging saiddetent, whereby said circuit is closed and the signal operated,substantially as set forth.

2. The combination with the center shaft of a clock, carrying a seriesof contacts, of a stationary series of contacts adapted to contactelectrically therewith at different points in the revolution thereof, asecond annular series of stationary contacts electrically connected withthe aforesaid series of stationary contacts, a contact arm arrangedwithin said annular series of contacts and adapted to contactelectrically therewith during its revolution, a spring connected to saidcontact arm and adapted to revolve the same, a pivoted detent forholding said contact arm against movement, a normally open electriccircuit including a generator and signal of which each of the respectivestationary and moving contacts and said contact arm form terminals, anormally open electric circuit includin g a generator and anelectro-magnet, the armature of said magnet, said armature beingarranged to engage said pivoted detent in its movement and release saidspring, and means for closing said last named circuit whereby thecontact arm is released and said first named circuit closed and thesignal therein operated, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination with the center shaft of a clock carrying a series ofcontacts, of a stationary series of contacts adapted to contactelectrically therewith during the revolution thereof, a second annularseries of stationary contacts electrically connected to said last namedseries of stationary contacts, a contact arm arranged Within saidannular series of stationary contacts and adapted to contactelectrically therewith in its revolution, a spring connected to saidcontact arm and adapted to revolve the same, a pivoted detent forholding said contact arm against movement, a normally open electriccircuit including a generator and a signal of which circuit each of therespective stationary and moving contacts and said contact arm and saiddetent form terminals, a contact point in said circuit arranged in thepath of said detent and forming a terminal of said circuit, a notcheddisk on the said con'tact arm and adapted to revolve therewith, aprojection on said detent engaging said notch in the disk, a normallyopen electric circuit including a generator and an electro-magnet, thearmature of said eleotro-magnet, said armature being arranged to engagesaid pivoted detent in its movement and disengage the same from saidspring, and means for closing said last named circuit, whereby thesignal is operated, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination with the center shaft of a clock, carrying a seriesof contacts, of a stationary series of contacts adapted to contactelectrically therewith during the revolution thereof, a second annularseries of stationary contacts electrically connected with said lastnamedseries of stationary contacts, a contact arm arranged within saidannular series of stationary contacts and adapted to contactelectrically therewith during its revolution, a spring connected to saidcontact arm and adapted to revolve the same, a shaft bearing a detentfor holdingsaid arm againstmovement, a normallyopen electric circuitincluding a generator and a signal of which circuit each of therespective stationary and moving contacts and said contact arm formterminals, a contact point in said circuit and forming a terminalthereof, an arm on said shaft playing over said contact point andforming the other terminal of said circuit, a notched disk borne by saidcontact arm, a projection on said shaft engaging the notch in said disk,a normally open electric circuit, including a generator and anelectro-magnet, the armature of said electro-magnet, an arm on saidshaft arranged in the path of said armature, a moving catch forpreventing the full movement of said armature, and means for closingsaid last-named circuit whereby the signal is sounded.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I hereunto aflix my signaturethis 17th day of February, A. D. 1892.

WILLIAM KAISLING. LL. S.]

In presence of- CHARLES LARGE, M. E. HARRISON.

